1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of work-holding tools and fixtures and, more particularly, to a work-holding implement for holding a cylindrical object while an interior bore is being honed or otherwise machined, as well as a bench-mounted fixture for loading the implement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Small workpieces are frequently held with the fingers in order to perform operations such as honing the interior surface of a bore in the workpiece. The lack of stability in such an approach is obvious, and the chance of marring the surface worked on or of possibly deforming a thin-walled workpiece clearly exists. If the machining operation is being carried out under an oil spray, the workpiece becomes slippery and difficult to hold. In addition, holding a workpiece with the fingers against high-speed rotating machinery is an inherently risky procedure from the standpoint of operator safety.
Implements exist which make use of a sheet of emery paper wrapped around a cylindrical workpiece and clamped rigidly in some sort of fixture. When this sort of device is employed while machining an interior bore of the workpiece, an extreme concentration of stress develops along a line as rotational torques force the workpiece against the clamping fixture. The workpiece is likely to become dented in response to the line of concentrated stress.
It would be a great boon in machine shop practice if there existed an implement for holding a workpiece for honing or other types of machining the inside of a bore in the object. Ideally such an implement could be used without damaging the outer surface of the object while providing sufficient stability and holding strength, even when an oil spray is present. Such a work-holding implement would be even more valuable if it were convenient to use and economical to manufacture. It would also be advantageous if such a work-holding implement had the capability of gripping a deformable object over its entire outer circumference without distorting its shape because of contact pressure concentrated at just a few points.
A further advantage would be gained by being able to load the workpiece into the implement in a fixture mounted on a workbench, so that insertion or removal of the workpiece could be accomplished with ease.